Show Me Your Wood Brew Sculpture/Rig

[brettwasbtd]

I used lag bolts, because I bought a box when I built the boat rack.

Oh man, look what I started! People now feel obligated to defend their fastener of choice!

 

[mgrennie]

Oh man, look what I started! People now feel obligated to defend their fastener of choice!

I do have to say, fastener choice does not replace good design. I left out my diagonal braces for the boat rack, because I had my big boat on a trailer parked perpendicular with the transom overhanging. That caused the bottom bolts to tear the wood during the hurricane.

 

[groundchuck]

Oh man, look what I started! People now feel obligated to defend their fastener of choice!

That is funny $hit right there I don't care who you are. I was thinking the same thing when I saw mgrennie's post.

By the way mgrennie, I really like your brew stand. :rockin: Not for the sexy factor but for the reuse factor. I am an engineer by day so I am all about design simplicity / efficiency. However, #2 on the list is design/product reuse. I am always a fan of reusing stuff for new purposes. Being able to say "My brewstand once held my boat in place" is definitely cool.
Nice work.

I do have to say, fastener choice does not replace good design.

Absolutely true.

 

[mgrennie]

Thanks. I'm an engineer, too, and primarily a sailor. My intention was to make it look like a well weathered dock, and I'm thinking my bar build will be the other half of the rack. It's ugly compared to others, but it will always look the same. The plywood came directly from a shed (destroyed by snow) platform I built, so I nailed it on until I have time to make a nice deck. It will also be stored outside, so I wanted my burners, pump and everything to be removeable for inside storage. Not bad for a project accomplished in less than an hour while my wife was out.

 

[dacohen]

Just finished construction on my wood stand. I still need to mount my pump & chiller. When it is functioning, it will be a herms system. Hoping to brew the inaugural batch this weekend.

 

[NervousDad]

I really need to make a single tier stand. I bought a welder, I just have to stop being so lazy. Not all wood but it sits on a rolling wood platform.

 

[cpl-america]

I really need to make a single tier stand. I bought a welder, I just have to stop being so lazy. Not all wood but it sits on a rolling wood platform.

View attachment 171270

Count it!

 

[dordelli]

Here's mine, 3rd revision, just hooked up 1/2" natural gas pipe and added the turkey fryer burner as an HLT. Worked great although I missed my OG by too much on the initial run. 23 tip jet burner on Brew Pot and BG12 on the HLT. Just need to upgrade my cooling solution as my IC just takes too long.

 

[spointon]

I have drawn a lot of inspiration from this thread, so thanks everyone! My stand itself is basically done, but I will still sand the whole thing down, add some pegboard and hooks on the back, add my pump and CF chiller, etc. I will post again when it is completely done...

Just got the new kettle in last night. Am awaiting just a few parts to complete the quick disconnect lines and it will be ready to test drive.

 

[groundchuck]

Just got the new kettle in last night. Am awaiting just a few parts to complete the quick disconnect lines and it will be ready to test drive.

That's looking really good spointon

..... I now have this uncomfortable feeling of dissatisfaction with my rig ....... damitjim ....... stoopid hobby .........

 

[jaybagley]

I've been thinking about modifying my existing bench. Right now it's a single tier, but I have no pumps or anything. I'd like to spruce it up a bit and modify it for a three tier system until I can buy a pump. With that in mind I've been trying to think of a way to do a three tier system while not eliminating the single tier base. What I've come up with is the following:

I'm going to lower the single tier to about 3 feet high. My MT will sit on this. I'll build a riser on the bench to place my Bayou Classic SP10 and HLT on. Then I'll cut a hole in the top of the bench to allow my BK to come up through maybe an inch or so.

Here is a really bad drawing of what I'm thinking. Do you guys think this will work. Eventually I'd like to have a single tier with pumps and I think this allows me to maintain the single tier option while giving me the 3 tier gravity that I need in the short term.

 

[barrooze]

... I'll cut a hole in the top of the bench to allow my BK to come up through maybe an inch or so.

Why not just remove the boards for the BK? Then there's no risk in the heat coming up around the kettle from catching fire to the boards that were cut. Also, you can reuse the boards when/if you go back to a single tier.

 

[Setesh]

Here is a really bad drawing of what I'm thinking. Do you guys think this will work. Eventually I'd like to have a single tier with pumps and I think this allows me to maintain the single tier option while giving me the 3 tier gravity that I need in the short term.

My guess would be that the burner on the bottom tier is going to torch the wood above it.

 

[Setesh]

Why not just remove the boards for the BK? Then there's no risk in the heat coming up around the kettle from catching fire to the boards that were cut. Also, you can reuse the boards when/if you go back to a single tier.

+1 to this

 

[LandoLincoln]

I've been thinking about modifying my existing bench. Right now it's a single tier, but I have no pumps or anything. I'd like to spruce it up a bit and modify it for a three tier system until I can buy a pump. With that in mind I've been trying to think of a way to do a three tier system while not eliminating the single tier base. What I've come up with is the following:

I'm going to lower the single tier to about 3 feet high. My MT will sit on this. I'll build a riser on the bench to place my Bayou Classic SP10 and HLT on. Then I'll cut a hole in the top of the bench to allow my BK to come up through maybe an inch or so.

Here is a really bad drawing of what I'm thinking. Do you guys think this will work. Eventually I'd like to have a single tier with pumps and I think this allows me to maintain the single tier option while giving me the 3 tier gravity that I need in the short term.

If that were my rig and I wanted to keep the single-tier intact, I'd remove the platform boards near the BK and keep a close eye on the remaining structural boards to make sure they don't get too toasty during a brew. If the heat starts to get worrisome, maybe buy a piece or two of sheet metal and cut it up and wrap the pieces with the sheet metal.

 

[jaybagley]

That makes way more sense than what I was going to do. I'm having one of those "duh" moments. Thanks all!

 

[bknifefight]

The first running version of my electric build. Eventually it will end up HERMS.

 

[Setesh]

maybe buy a piece or two of sheet metal and cut it up and wrap the pieces with the sheet metal.

Sheet metal would work well. I bet a few layers of heavy duty aluminum foil would even do the trick.

 

[jaybagley]

Alright, next question - what's the best wood to go with? If seen everything. Cedar looks like it could be a tad bit expensive, untreated pine?

 

[CastleHollow]

Alright, next question - what's the best wood to go with? If seen everything. Cedar looks like it could be a tad bit expensive, untreated pine?

On my original brewrig, I went with pressure treated pine. But that was mostly reclaimed from an old porch. I figure since it held up to the elements for 10+ years without damage, some spilled wort and hot water wouldn't hurt it.

 

[Setesh]

Alright, next question - what's the best wood to go with? If seen everything. Cedar looks like it could be a tad bit expensive, untreated pine?

I would see what you can get at a recycling center. A good recycling center can have some pretty nice lumber at a very good price. You can also go the free route like me if you are willing to bust down pallets. My entire brewstand cost me <$7 (for the screws to hold it together) as it was all recycled lumber from pallets and scrap lumber that a company was just throwing away.

 

[MX1]

Pics tomorrow......

 

[LandoLincoln]

Alright, next question - what's the best wood to go with? If seen everything. Cedar looks like it could be a tad bit expensive, untreated pine?

Cedar would be overkill. If you're planning on painting it or staining and varnishing it, then I'd go untreated pine. But I guess it depends on where you're planning on storing it. My outdoor brew rig sits on my back deck exposed to the elements, so I used pressure-treated pine for everything but the slats and made sure to get some quality deck stain / sealant. It's held up well so far.

 

[JackAssBrewer]

I just finished my brew stand recently. I realize that there are those that may not agree on using wood for a brew stand with propane burners, but the basic design that I copied from a fellow member, along with the style of burners that I am using, I have had no issues with scorched or even warm wood at the writing of this note. Thank you to everyone who makes additions to this site.

I have read this whole thread to get ideas for my first brew stand and I noticed your stand for the burners. It kind of looks like you have a "Camp Chef Explorer Stove" for your burners. I just bought that specific "stove" for the purpose of brewing with it. (2 30k BTU burners) What has been your experience with it? Does it work well/efficient? I haven't used mine yet... remodeling my basement now.
My System is 2 Keggles (HLT & BK) and a 10gal cooler (mash tun) IC & gravity fed CFC (just started using).

 

[MX1]

Here is mine. About 80% done I would say.
I will replace the plywood on the lower level with a piece that actually fits, lol, that was just thrown down to put stuff on.
Also will deck all the surfaces with plywood, paint it all black and red, and add some diamond plate accents.

 

[jaybagley]

Ok, I did my mods this weekend and here is the result. Right now it's a rough bench, I'm going to give it a test run in a couple of weeks and if everything works as I hope it will I'll start the process of sprucing it up a bit.

 

[spointon]

Ok, I did my mods this weekend and here is the result. Right now it's a rough bench, I'm going to give it a test run in a couple of weeks and if everything works as I hope it will I'll start the process of sprucing it up a bit.

Looking good! Just out of curiosity, it looks like you have several extra inches of height on the HLT platform. By that, I mean that it must be a chore to get that pot of water up there, so lowering that platform to the bare minimum needed to get it to gravity feed into your mash tun would seem advantageous (unless you are pumping the water up to the HLT, in which case ignore this observation).

Cheers!

 

[jaybagley]

I'm planning on filling the HLT from my water filter via pvc. I haven't tested it yet (too damn cold out) but I don't foresee any issues with it.

 

[grainbill]

man, the propane for the sparge vessel sure seems close to the flame of the mash tun....

 

[BSBrewer83]

Here ya go